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Jessica L. “Jess” Friedman may not know where she’ll be in five years, but no one can doubt her navigational skills. Between her sailing abilities, GPS mapping systems experience and a highly developed sense of place and purpose, she’ll get wherever she’s headed. Friedman, who grew up in Durham, N.C., graduates with a bachelor’s degree […]

When asked what she’s going to do over the summer, Homa Zafer responds with a typical college-student answer: “Sleep,” she says with a laugh. “I miss it.” Zafer, however, is anything but typical. She completed 20 credit hours this semester and at Commencement will receive a bachelor’s degree in communications with a journalism emphasis from […]

Kimberly A. Walker, OTD, is a perfect example of the saying, “If you want something bad enough, you’ll find a way to make it happen.” Walker, who earned a doctorate in occupational therapy in December, has exemplified the spirit of determination since birth, a difficult one in which her twin was stillborn, and Walker was […]

“Do it because you love it.” That’s the credo of the Amateurs, a co-ed a cappella student singing group that’s become a favorite campus diversion for graduating senior and Plymouth, Minn.-native Andrew Schupanitz. The phrase also is an apt motto for his academic career, which has taken him from would-be pre-med freshman with strong interests […]

Most boys dream of being professional baseball players. Stephen Westbrooks dreams of owning a baseball team. And not just any team — Westbrooks plans to own the St. Louis Cardinals. The dream may sound grandiose, but Westbrooks’ self-confidence and affability make it easy to believe he can do anything he sets his mind to. “I […]

When one thinks of challenging careers, law and medicine might quickly come to mind. Not a problem for Ryotaro Kato, M.D. Kato, who completed a three-year residency in internal medicine at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in 2004, will receive a doctor of law degree at the May 18 Commencement ceremony. Born in Tokyo, Kato graduated from high […]

The first person in her family to pursue a university degree, Heike Polster has come a long way from the spunky, inquisitive girl in Bergrheinfeld, Germany, who wanted most of all “to become a dentist’s wife,” she says. Photo by David Kilper German-born Heike Polster discusses the novel “Austerlitz” by W.G. Sebald, whose work she […]

DXA scans of a male patient with osteoporosisAlthough women are four times more likely than men to develop osteoporosis, or porous bone, one in 12 men also suffer from the disease, which can lead to debilitating – or even life-threatening – fractures. In women, low estrogen levels after menopause have been considered an important risk factor for this disorder. Now research at the School of Medicine has shown that low amounts of active estrogen metabolites also can increase the the risk of osteoporosis in men.

The 35-year-old kitchen and the serving lines at the McDonnell Sciences Shell Café will undergo a major three-month renovation starting May 21. New freezer capacity, improved dry storage, more adequate catering space, new high-tech ovens and a special pizza oven are just a few of the changes being initiated.

Joseph P. Culver, Ph.D., assistant professor of radiology, has received a two-year, $392,208 grant from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering for research titled “Full Head, High Density Functional Diffuse Optical Tomography.”… Ramesh Raghavan, M.D., Ph.D. assistant professor of psychiatry in Arts & Sciences, has received a two-year, $99,770 grant from the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families for research titled “Assuring the Emotional Well-Being of Children in Child Welfare Environments through Stable Health Insurance Coverage.”… Edgar T. Overton, M.D., assistant professor of medicine, has received a four-year, $387,195 grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration for the “Ryan White Title III Outpatient EIS Program.”… Fiona Marshall, Ph.D. professor of archaeology in Arts & Sciences, has received a one-year, $12,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for research titled “Pithouses to Pueblos: Aggregation, Animals, and Sustainability Seen through Taos Zooarchaeology and Isotopes.”